Angel on Fire
by EliadetheAkuma
Summary: Angel is a lost, lonely mutant without a family, a home, or anyone to take care of her. When Charles Xavier comes to her, she finds herself at the School for the Gifted. It is there that she finds herself falling in love with a boy with the ability to wield fire. But, with all that's happened to her, can she allow herself to love? Can she make friends? Can she survive? Pyro/OC
1. Darkness

It was a dark place where she was. Loneliness, pain, and such suffering that she wished for death. She curled up in a ball, tightly closing her eyes in an attempt to escape from harsh reality, which felt like burning ice. Reality had scorched her dreams and her hope, diminishing it to a pile of black ash. Hope and dreams had been replaced by suffering and nightmares. Every day, her entire being was broken and every night she was forced to gather the pieces of herself and piece them back together.

She shivered from the harsh memories that flashed through her mind, reminding her of the day-to-day abuse she went through. It was such a terrible thing, being put through such agony every day of her sick life. The treatment was enough to make her want to die, and she had wished for death too many times to count. There were simply no words to fully explain what she went through, and even fewer words to describe how painful it was. She just felt like such a waste of life and she wished she hadn't been born at all.

She was only seventeen years old and she had experienced just about every bit of horrors in the world. She had witnessed murder, rape, substance abuse, human slavery, and just about every other horror there was to be seen. She had felt as a whip hit her repeatedly on the back, burning and scarring her skin.

If only she could just fly away from all of it, that would be so liberating. Flight. The very thought of it made the dark black wings that protruded from her back twitch in exhilaration at the very thought of flight. She looked to the dark black appendages of death, black as a raven's feather and fifteen feet in length. She had retained them since she was ten years old, when they had started first starting growing.

She pondered if there was even the smallest possibility that she could escape; that she could fly away from all the pain and suffering she went through. Perhaps she could, but then again maybe she would breathe her last breath in doing so. Dying would definitely be better than enduring the unending maltreatment.

"_You can escape, 'y know."_

The sound of the voice made her jump and sit up, looking around the murky, grimy room. She attempted to find the source of the voice.

"Who are you? A-and where are you?"

"_My name is Charles Xavier. I am in your mind. You see, me and you are very special kind of people."_

"What do you mean by your 'in my mind' and we're special kinds of people?"

"_Those dark black wings on your back make you special, Angel. They are what make you different from everyone else."_

"Yeah, no kidding! Not everyone has big black wings growing out of their back." She responded, looking skeptical.

"_I understand your skepticism, Angel. You have endured through so much pain and darkness, but not all that pain comes from those wings. That pain comes from you being so different, which isn't always a bad thing. You are what is called a mutant, which is an evolved human. That is what makes you who you are, Angel. There is a safe place for people like you, a place that you can be free to express yourself and be among those who are just like you."_

"People like me? You mean…other mutants?" She asked, raising an eyebrow whilst brushing the black hair from her vision.

"_Yes. I help mutants like us find a home, a safe place where you won't be persecuted for being so evolved. A place where there is no pain."_

"What is this place you talk about?" Angel requested, raising an eyebrow in interest. She was trying to avoid making it obvious that she was interested, something she had always failed at.

"_Xavier's School for the Gifted. You know where it is."_

"I do?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"_Yes, because I have already told you where it is. Now please, I beg of you, Angel, come here. You will be safe. You will feel no pain here. Only happiness and…acceptance."_

The voice faded, and she had a sudden feeling that it was indeed gone. She bit her lip, contemplating exactly what she was going to. Was there really a place out there for her and people like her? Could she really escape and go to that place…in Westchester County, New York?

Angel wrinkled her eyebrows. The voice had been right about one thing: she knew exactly where that school was.

With a deep breath, she stood on her bare feet and walked over to the sheet covering her so-called "room". Peeking her head of black hair out, she peered up and down the hallways. Seeing no one, she unfurled her black wings of death and with a slam of her foot, took off down the hallway.


	2. Guide

Angel huddled in the corner of the subway train, avoiding the looks of those around her. She adjusted the awkward appendages underneath her black hoodie. Eyes dark, she looked around at the people who were on the train with her. They were giving her strange looks, almost like they knew she was different. She wondered if maybe she simply gave off a vibe that she was different from them. Was that possible? Did she really give off those kinds of vibes?

She deeply sighed. She had escaped more easily than she expected and had flown until she couldn't fly anymore. She had made it to Hartford, Connecticut before she had no choice but to buy a ticket in order to make it to Westchester, New York where she would find Xavier's School for the Gifted. She hoped the train ride wouldn't last much longer; she was exhausted from flying that distance running on little food, water, and that wasn't even mentioning that she had already gone through her usual abuse that night, which meant she had already been thoroughly exhausted.

The looks these people were giving her only made her feel much worse. She wanted to sleep so badly, but she knew her journey wasn't over. She knew she wouldn't be safe unless she reached that sanctuary, that place of safety and tranquility. She simply found that she couldn't rest until she had reached the school.

* * *

Angel stepped off the train, avoiding the still-estranged looks of those around her. She reached up and adjusted the hood, pulling it farther over her face. She wandered out of the train station and was greeted by the bright, beautiful lights of New York. It was an odd sense of security that rushed over her, filling her with "safe" which she hadn't felt in a long time. She smiled, looking around at all the tall buildings and bright lights, surprised that the streets were so bright even though it was night-time. A sense of just absolute happiness washed over her, making her grin and begin to spin around on the sidewalk, for absolutely no reason.

She laughed loudly, stopping her spinning to look at a bright sign reading 'HOPE; IT LIVES INSIDE EVERY ONE OF US". She wondered if it was a coincidence that it had appeared then, but only shook her head.

"There are no coincidences, Angel. No coincidences, whatsoever."

She laughed loudly and took off down the street, arms held out like she was an airplane.

* * *

Angel looked around her, annoyed. She hated herself for getting all happy and just running down the street, with no clue of where she was going. Now here she was, lost in New York with no-one around to help her. It had been some time since she was on the street that she wasn't sure she could still do the things she used to in order to survive. She'd been nine years old when she got in with those people who had caused her pain every day and here she was seventeen, back on the street. After eight years, she wasn't sure she still had the skills to con the chef at Italiano for food, steal jewelry from the rich by acting as a maid or Avon salesperson, or work for the drug cartels to get new members.

"You're not far from the place you're looking for." A sudden voice interrupted her thoughts, causing her to look in the direction of the person speaking. Standing beside the dumpster she was close to was a woman, who she presumed to be the speaker. She was leaning against the brick wall, her arms crossed over her chest and one foot against the wall. She peered at Angel from the dark with icy blue eyes that Angel recognized as being like her own when she had looked in the mirror last; filled with pain and a lifetime's worth of it.

Angel turned.

"What are you talking about?"

"Xavier's School for Gifted 'Youngsters'; you're looking for it, right?" The woman asked, shoving off the wall and entering the small light emitted from the bright lights on the main road. Angel saw that her hair was a shiny white/blue color, almost the shade of her eyes. She was wearing a simple white tank top and a pair of ripped, faded jeans underneath a dark black, long jacket. The top button was done up while the rest remained undone. She wore a set of simple, ankle-high hiking boots.

"How did you…know?" Angel asked, shifting awkwardly.

"I just did. Anyway, the school is just down the road from her and to the right. Number 1407. Ask for Jean Grey. She can help you and she won't hurt you. It doesn't matter that you have those black wings."

"T-thank you, but who are you?" Angel asked, glancing down toward the end of the alley.

"Just call me Frost." She smiled at Angel before beginning her walk down the end of the alley.

"Wait! How did you know what I was?"

She laughed and touched the left alley wall and Angel watched as ice-covered the entirety of the wall within seconds.

"You are-" Angel stopped as she looked back to the spot where the woman had stood and found that she was gone.

"You're like me." She said quietly, before taking a deep breath and following the directions the woman had told her. She thanked God silently for the help.


	3. Acceptance? Part 1

Angel awoke to the feeling of someone touching her arm gently. She kept her eyes closed, feeling very exhausted from the day before. However, when she felt a sudden prick in her left wrist, her eyes went wide and she snapped away from the person. She quickly realized how bad of an idea that was though, as blood began to pour from her wrist where it had been punctured for an I.V.

The person quickly grabbed her wrist and applied white gauze to it, successfully stopping the bleeding. She looked up at the woman, watching as she cleaned the wound. The woman had short red hair that curled somewhat at the end of the hairs and her eyes, brown in color, were very sweet and kind. Angel slowly relaxed into her touch and allowed the woman to gently pull her back onto the table correctly.

"Your name is Angel, right?" She asked, speaking quietly to avoid scaring Angel.

Angel nodded quietly, focusing on the woman's hands as they gently pressed the gauze lightly to the skin. For a few minutes, there was just silence.

"Thank you."

The woman glanced up at Angel's words, before smiling and gently reaching behind her for the tape. Angel felt a pang of fear at seeing the tape, but tried her best to hide it. She watched as she gently taped the gauze to the bleeding puncture wound on her wrist.

"You might not think so, but your wings are very amazing." The woman spoke, surprising Angel entirely. She looked up at the woman, locking with her brown eyes, wondering if she was making fun of her. She saw sincerity in her eyes and smiled softly in response to it.

This was the very first time she had seen that kind look and she wondered if she would see it again…in the faces of those here at this school.

"My name is Jean, by the way, Jean Grey." The woman responded, gently applying tape to the gauze and then extending her hand to Angel. She slowly looked from Jean's hand to her smiling face. Jean's eyebrows rose expectantly and Angel smiled back, taking her hand.

"Don't worry; you're going to love it here. After all you've gone through; I think it's time you had some friends and a place to call home."

"Thank you." She whispered.

* * *

Angel sat quietly on the roof, her legs slung over the edge and a foam tray on her lap. She popped a potato chip in her mouth as she studied the yard below. There were children playing basketball, teenagers in their little circles discussing their classes and teachers, and even a few pets running around. Yet here she was, sitting atop the school, ignoring them for the most part. She shifted her black wings and sighed deeply. She glanced over at the tower opposite her and then looked back to the yard below, her mind not registering what she had seen at the tower until she had looked away. She quickly looked back over and saw the boy stumble back, a look of fear on his face. The bullies advanced on him as he came closer to the edge and Angel found herself slowly moving the tray, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She was ready to jump into action and she didn't even know why. She watched as the bullies shoved him again and his shoe slipped on the edge, causing him to fall over the edge. However, his hands grabbed hold of the edge and he grasped the stone tightly. She found herself standing and she put a hand to her chest, trying to soothe her breathing.

She was hesitating.

And she didn't know why. A boy was about to die and she could save him. She would have the chance to be a hero, to save someone when she couldn't save herself and here she was hesitating. His hand slipped and she took off hurriedly, slamming her shoe off the edge of her tower and instantly beginning to flap her wings in her usual way.

She caught him and then she was flying downward to set him on the ground when she felt an unexpected intense rush of pain. She almost dropped the boy but managed to keep a grasp on him but lost her altitude. When she realized they were plummeting, she hurriedly changed their position so that they would land with her on the bottom. She heard gasps and cries as she fell down but when she finally felt her body connect with the ground, her entire world went black and her hearing faded out. It was almost like dying...


End file.
